On Stardate 43997, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise was kidnapped for six days by an invading force known as the Borg. Surgically altered, he was forced to lead an assault on Starfleet at Wolf 359.

Quark: Commander, I've made a career out of knowing when to leave. And this provisional government is far too provisional for my taste and when governments fall, people like me are lined up and shot.

Benjamin Sisko: There is that risk, but then, you are a gambler, Quark.

Odo: And a thief.

Benjamin Sisko: You know, Quark, that poor boy is about to spend the best years of his life in a Bajoran prison. I'm a father myself. I know what your brother must be going through. The boy should be with his family, not in some cold jail cell. Think about it. It's up to you.

[He exits]

Odo: You know, at first, I didn't think I was going to like him.

Benjamin Sisko: [To Captain Picard] In the meantime, I will do the job I've been ordered to do to the best of my ability, sir!

Kira Nerys: Quark, if you don't take your hand off my hip, you'll never be able to raise a glass with it again.

Quark: Oh, I love a woman in uniform.

Benjamin Sisko: That may be the most important thing to understand about humans. It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives day by day, and we explore the galaxy trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here: not to conquer you with weapons or ideas, but to coexist and learn.

Kai Opaka: Nine orbs, like this one, have appeared in the skies over the past 10,000 years. The Cardassians took the others. You must find the Celestial Temple before they do.

Benjamin Sisko: The Celestial Temple?

Kai Opaka: Tradition says that the orbs were sent by the prophets to teach us. What we have learned has shaped our theology. The Cardassians will do anything to decipher their powers. If they discover the Celestial Temple, they could destroy it.

Benjnamin Sisko: What makes you think I can find your... temple?

Kai Opaka: [gives Sisko the orb ark] This will help you.

Benjamin Sisko: Kai Opaka, I...

Kai Opaka: I can't unite my people until I know the prophets have been warned. You will find the temple. Not for Bajor, not for the Federation, but for your own pagh. It is quite simply, Commander, the journey you have always been destined to take.

Benjamin Sisko: I have a son that I’m raising alone, captain. This is not the ideal environment.

Jean Luc Picard: Unfortunately, Starfleet officers do not always have the luxury to serve in an ideal environment.

Benjamin Sisko: Commander, help me! Jennifer, hold on...

Bolian commander: Sir...

Benjamin Sisko: Just help me to get her free!

Bolian commander: She’s gone. There’s nothing we can do. We have to leave...we have to go now sir!

Benjamin Sisko: Dammit, we just can’t leave her here!

Benjamin Sisko: It won’t be so bad. I’ve heard that Bajor is a beautiful world.

Jake Sisko: So why can’t we live on the planet instead of some old space station?

Vedek: Welcome, Commander. Please enter. The Prophets await you.

Benjamin Sisko: Another time, perhaps.

Vedek: [Nods] Another time.

Miles O’Brien: That’s the prefect’s office up there.

Benjamin Sisko: So all others have to look up with respect. Cardassian architecture.

Benjamin Sisko: Is something bothering you, Major?

Kira Nerys: You don’t want to ask me that, Commander.

Benjamin Sisko: Why not?

Kira Nerys: Because I have the bad habit of telling the truth, even when people don’t want to hear it.

Benjamin Sisko: Perhaps I want to hear it.

Kira Nerys: I don’t believe the Federation has any business being here.

Benjamin Sisko: The provisional government disagrees with you.

Kira Nerys: The provisional government and I don’t agree on a lot of things which is probably why they sent me to this god-forsaken place. I have been fighting for Bajoran independence...ever since I was old enough to pick up a phaser. We finally drive the Cardassians out, and what do our new leaders do? They call up the Federation and invite them right in!

Benjamin Sisko: The Federation is only here to help...

Kira Nerys:...help us, I know. The Cardassians said the same thing sixty years ago.

Benjamin Sisko: That’s enough!

Odo: Who the hell are you?

Kira Nerys: Odo, this is our new Starfleet commander.

Kira Nerys: I suppose Starfleet officers aren’t used to getting their hands dirty.

Kira Nerys: [to Sisko] This government will be gone in a week and so will you.

Quark: I love the Bajorans, such a deeply spiritual people, but they make a dreadful ale.

Kira Nerys: Red alert. Shields up.

Miles O’Brien: What shields?

Odo: Doctor, most people in my experience wouldn’t know reason if it walked up and shook their hand.

Kira Nerys: I am just a Bajoran who has been fighting a hopeless cause against the Cardassians all her life. So if you want a war, I’ll give you one!

Miles O’Brien: Bloody Cardassians! I just got the damned thing fixed.

Julian Bashir: So, where can someone practice with his phaser around here?

Odo: I don’t know where I came from, no idea if there are any others like me. All my life, I’ve been forced to pass myself as one of you – always wondering who I really am.

Odo: I choose not to. Too many compromises. You want to watch the Karo-Net tournament, she wants to listen to music, so you compromise: you listen to music. You like Earth jazz, she prefers Klingon opera, so you compromise: you listen to Klingon opera. So here you were ready to have a nice night watching the Karo-net match and you wind up spending an agonizing evening listening to Klingon opera.

Odo: Killing your own clone is still murder.

Odo: Laws change depending on who's making them, but justice is justice.

Benjamin Sisko: [to Odo] If you can't work within the rules I'll find someone who can.

Benjamin Sisko: I want you to know I don't personally believe that you're responsible for this.

Odo: Really? Now, how can that be true? You don't know me. You have no reason to believe I wouldn't kill Ibudan if it suited my fancy, so don't tell me there isn't some doubt inside of you, some question about whether or not I murdered the man.

Benjamin Sisko: [On Odo] Do not condemn this man because he is different than you are.

Odo: I’ll never understand this obsession with accumulating material wealth. You spend your entire life plotting and scheming to acquire more and more possessions until your living areas are bursting with useless junk. Then you die, your relatives sell everything and start the cycle all over again.

Benjamin Sisko: [referring to Dax] He taught me to appreciate life in ways I'd never thought about before. He taught me about art, and science and diplomacy. Whatever sense of honor I have today, he nurtured.

Madame Arbiter: [referring to the extradition hearing proceedings] I intend to be here until supper, not senility.

Kira: When I was very small, I remember there was this tree right outside my window. It was the ugliest, most knarled and battered old tree I'd ever seen. Even the birds stayed away from it.

Mullibok: But you loved it.

Kira: I hated it, because it had grown so huge, its branches blocked out the sun for kelipates, and its roots buried themselves so deep in the soil nothing else could grow there. It was a big, selfish, annoying...

Odo: Survivors of Gallitep. They arrived here this morning. They've come to see justice done.

Quark: Gallitep... imagine living through that hellhole... the pain... the sorrow... Do you think they like to gamble?

[after being told that his war crimes tribunal is being prepared]

Gul Darhe'el: War crimes? How can there be war crimes when there hasn't been a war? Oh, I can understand your wish that there had been a war. Your need to indulge some pathetic fantasy about brave Bajoran soldiers marching to honorable defeat, but in fact, Major, you and I know there was no war. No glory. Bajor didn't resist. It surrendered.

Kira Nerys: The Bajorans were a peaceful people before you came. We offered no threat to you. We could never understand why you had to be so brutal.

Gul Darhe'el: Well, we can't have that, Major. I want no more secrets between us. Anything you can't understand, I'll explain to you.

Gul Darhe'el: I did what had to be done! My men understood that and that's why they loved me. I would order them to go out and kill Bajoran scum. And they would do it! They'd murder them! And they'd come back covered in blood, but they felt clean. Now why did they feel that way, Major? Because they were clean.

Kira: You're Marritza, aren't you?

Gul Darhe'el: You mistake me for that bug? That whimpering nothing? Ho-ho, you stupid Bajoran girl! Don't you know who I am? I'm your nemesis! I'm your nightmare! I'm the Butcher of Gallitep!

Kira: The Butcher of Gallitep died six years ago. You're Aamin Marritza, his filing clerk.

Gul Darhe'el: That's not true, I am alive! I will always be alive! It's Marritza who's dead! Marritza, who was good for nothing but cowering under his bunk and weeping like a woman! Who would, every night, cover his ears, because he couldn't bear to hear the screaming for mercy of the Bajorans…

[He breaks down and sinks onto his bunk, sobbing uncontrollably.]

Aamin Marritza: I covered my ears every night. But I couldn't bear to hear those horrible screams. You have no idea what it's like to be a coward. To see these horrors…and do nothing. Marritza's dead. He deserves to be dead.

Aamin Marritza: My trial will force Cardassia to acknowledge its guilt. And we're guilty, all of us! My death is necessary!

Kira: What you're asking for is another murder. Enough good people have already died. I won't help kill another.

Quark: You wound me. All these years together, I thought you knew me. Odo, I am not a killer!

Odo: No, but most of your friends are.

Quark: True, and I would gladly sell one of them to you if I could. But unfortunately, none of them have taken credit for the death of the Starfleet officer.

Odo: Keep your ears open.

Quark: Are you kidding? That's the Seventh Rule of Acquisition.

Winn: You live without a soul, Commander. You and your Federation exist in a universe of darkness and you would drag us in there with you. But we will not go.

Sisko: You have just made your first mistake, Vedek.

Winn: Have I?

Sisko: The Bajorans who have lived with us on this station, who have worked with us for months, who helped us move this station to protect the wormhole, who joined us to explore the Gamma Quadrant, who have begun to build the future of Bajor with us. These people know that we are neither the enemy nor the devil. We don't always agree. We have some damn good fights, in fact. But we always come away from them with a little better understanding and appreciation of the other. You won't succeed here. The school will reopen. And when your rhetoric gets old, the Bajoran parents will bring their children back.

Kira: Commander, I heard what you said to Vedek Winn at the school. I just wanted you to know you were right what you said about the Bajorans, at least about me. I don't think you're the devil.

Quark: The way I see it, humans used to be a lot like Ferengi: greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget.

Benjamin Sisko: Quark, we don't have time for this.

Quark: You're overlooking something. Humans used to be a lot worse than Ferengi: slavery, concentration camps, interstellar war. We have nothing in our past that approaches that kind of barbarism. You see? We're nothing like you... we're better.

[Sisko and Quark have been captured by the Jem'Hadar]

Third Talak'talan: A Ferengi and a human. I was hoping the first race I'd meet from the other side of the anomaly would be the Klingons.

Benjamin Sisko: I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Third Talak'talan: It's too late for apologies. The Dominion will no longer stand by and allow ships from your side to violate our territory.

Grilka: I really am very grateful for all you have done, Quark. That is why I'm going to let you take your hand off my thigh instead of shattering every bone in your body.

Quark: I am Quark, son of Keldar. And I have come to answer the challenge of D'Ghor, son of... (pause) whoever.

[as D'Ghor raises his bat'leth, Quark drops his on the floor]

Quark: Having me fight D'Ghor is nothing more than an execution. Well, if that's what you want, then that's what you'll get, an execution. No glory. No honor. [he kneels] And when you one day tell your children how you came to power and took Grilka's house from her, I hope you remember to tell them how you "heroically" killed an unarmed Ferengi, half your size.

D'Ghor: Whatever you say, Ferengi!

[He raises the bat'leth to swing at Quark, but Gowron seizes his arm.]

Gowron: D'Ghor, what are you doing?! I didn't want to believe the things he said about you yesterday... but if you can stand here and murder this pathetic little man, then you have no honor. (takes the Bat'leth from him and tosses it to the ground) You have no place in this hall.

Quark: 75 - Home is where the heart is...But the stars are made of latinum.

[Dukat has accidentally activated an old recording left by his former commanding officer]

Legate Kell: Dukat... if you are seeing this recording, it means you tried to abandon your post while the station's self-destruct sequence was engaged. That will not be permitted.

Dukat: (flustered) This is outrageous!

Legate Kell: You have lost control of Terok Nor, disgracing yourself and Cardassia. Your attempt to escape is no doubt a final act of cowardice. All fail-safes have been eliminated. Your personal access codes have been rescinded. The destruct sequence can no longer be halted. All you can do now is contemplate the depth of your disgrace... and try to die like a Cardassian.

Julian Bashir: Well, that may be, but according to my tests, you show all the symptoms. Zanthi Fever is a virus which affects the empathic abilities of um... mature Betazoids. It causes them to project their emotions onto others.

Benjamin Sisko: Then Mrs. Troi's amorous feelings for... [knowing smile] someone on the station were being passed along to the people around her.

Julian Bashir: Not everyone, only those within close proximity to her when she had an attack; and even then, there would have had to have been some pre-existing latent attraction.

Benjamin Sisko: [concerned] You're saying Dax--

Julian Bashir: Only on a subconscious level. Best not think about it too much, if you ask me.

Julian Bashir: A simple wide-spectrum anti-viral agent should cure Mrs. Troi, and as for everyone else, well, they'll be back to normal in a day or two. Excuse me. [to Sisko] I promised Nerys that I'd meet her in her quarters this evening.

Benjamin Sisko: [stopping him] I think you ought to postpone that visit... for a day or two.

Garak: Actually, doctor, there is something. If you go into my quarters and examine the bulkhead next the the replicator you'll notice theres a false panel. Behind that panel is a compartment containing an isolinear rod. If I'm not back within 78 hours I want you to take that rod and eat it.

Bashir: Eat it...?

Garak: Mmhmm.

Bashir: You're joking.

Garak: Yes, doctor, I am.

Bashir: Very. Funny.

Garak: I thought so! But the answer to your question, doctor, is "no". There is nothing you can do for me while I'm away.

Benjamin Sisko: I finally realized that it wasn't Starfleet that I was trying to get away from. I was trying to escape the pain I felt, after my wife's death. I thought I could take the uniform, wrap it around the pain and toss them both away. But it doesn't work like that. Running may help for a little while, but sooner or later the pain catches up with you, and the only way to get rid of it is to stand your ground and face it.

Julian Bashir: I'm sure there's more than one Klingon who thinks that slaying a changeling would be worthy of a song or two.

Odo: Doctor, if a Klingon were to kill me, I'd expect an entire opera on the subject.

Odo: Come on, Quark, move it along, you should be in the emergency shelter by now.

Quark: I'm not going to any emergency shelter! This is my bar and I'm going to defend it.

Odo: Really? And how do you plan to do that?

Quark: With this. (holds up a closed box)

Odo: You're going to hit them with a box?

Quark: No, this is my disruptor pistol, the one I used to carry back in the old days when I was serving on that Ferengi freighter.

Odo: I thought you were the ship's cook.

Quark: That's right, and every member of that crew thought he was a food critic. If the Klingons try to get through these doors, I'll be ready for them.

(He opens the box, which is empty save for a note. Odo takes it out.)

Odo: (reads aloud) "Dear Quark, I used parts of your disruptor to fix the replicators, will return them soon - Rom."

Quark: (grabs the note) I will kill him!

Odo: With what?

Julian Bashir: I can't believe you're not pressing charges.

Elim Garak: Constable Odo and Captain Sisko expressed a similar concern, but really doctor, there was no harm done.

Quark: And you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it.

Elim Garak: It's insidious.

Quark: Just like the Federation.

[pause]

Elim Garak: Do you think they can save us?

Quark: I hope so.

Benjamin Sisko: We've had a year to prepare this station for a Dominion attack, and we're more than ready.

Gowron: (laughs) You're like a toothless old grishna cat, trying to frighten us with your roar!

Benjamin Sisko: I assure you, this old cat may not be as toothless as you think. Right now I've got five thousandphoton torpedoes armed and ready to launch. If you don't believe me, feel free to scan the station.

[Martok and Gowron look across the bridge to their sensor officer, who nods.]

Martok: It's a trick! An illusion created by thoron fields and duranium shadows.

Benjamin Sisko: It's no illusion.

Gowron: We shall see. (in Klingon) Today is a good day to die!

Gowron: Your shields are down, your station boarded, and more Klingon ships are on their way! Surrender while you can!

Benjamin Sisko: I'm no writer, but if I were it seems to me I'd wanna poke my head up every once in a while and take a look around - see what's going on. It's life, Jake! You can miss it if you don't open your eyes!

Jake Sisko: This is the last chance I'm ever going to have to help you. [Jake fades in and out] [Pained] No!

Benjamin Sisko: Jake, it's over. It's not going to work.

Jake: It has to.

Benjamin: Let go, Jake! If not for yourself, then for me. You still have time to make a better life for yourself. Promise me you'll do that. [Pleading] Promise me!

Miles O'Brien: She says I'm trying to live like a bachelor again, that I'm expressing a subconscious desire to push her out of our quarters.

Julian Bashir: Now that is ridiculous.

Miles O'Brien: That's what I said!

Julian Bashir: I mean, if anything, by spending your free time in the bedroom, a place you intimately associate with Keiko, you are actually expressing...a desire to be closer to her...during her absence. It's quite touching, really.

Miles O'Brien: Exactly! Exactly! See, you understand. Why can't she see that? Why can't she be more like...

Julian Bashir: ...more like...?

Miles O'Brien: [Beat] ...uh, a man. Y-you know, more like a man.

Julian Bashir: So...you wish that Keiko...was a man.

Miles O'Brien: I wish I was on this trip with someone else, that's what I wish.

Bashir: What a lovely place. Smells like a garbage dump.

O'Brien: I'm sorry I couldn't find a nicer place to crash-land. Should we try again?

Kira Nerys: Tell me something... Who's Tora Ziyal? When I reactivated the Ravinok's computer, I downloaded the manifest. There were two civilians on board, in addition to the prisoners and the crew. Your... friend Tora Naprem and a Tora Ziyal, a thirteen year-old girl.

Gul Dukat: I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I told you she was Naprem's sister?

Worf: Things that will send cold chills down your spine and wake you in the middle of the night. No, it is better that you do not know. Excuse me. [He leaves]

Kira Nerys: I can never tell when he's joking.

Lenara Kahn: Perhaps it is better that we 'do not know'.

Jadzia Dax: Everyone's trying to... look out for us. Protect us from ourselves. But in the end, all that matters is how we feel... and what we do about it. Because either way, we're the ones who have to live with the consequences.

Lenara Kahn: That's the tricky part though, isn't it? Living with the consequences. When I'm not with you, when you're not around, it's like part of me is missing. I want to be with you more than anything...But I don't think I can do this.

Jadzia Dax: Can you really walk away from me... from us? After all this time we're back together. Don't throw that away.

Lenara Kahn: I don't want to...Maybe I need more time...maybe if I go back to Trill for a while...think it over...I could always come back later...

Jadzia Dax: I wish I could believe that. But ultimately, it comes down to this... if you feel about me the way I feel about you... you won't get on that transport tomorrow. And if you do leave... I think we both know you're never coming back.

Benjamin Sisko: I hope you don't take this the wrong way, Constable... but there are times when I wish you'd never found your people.

Odo: Believe me, Captain, sometimes I feel the same way.

Chief O'Brien: You probably wouldn't understand this, Quark, but when you care about a place and it's in trouble and you want to do something about it, and you can't, it's very frustrating.

Quark: I know exactly what you mean! When the Great Monetary Collapse hit Ferenginar, I was hundreds of light-years away serving as a ship's cook on a long-haul freighter. I can't tell you the heartbreak I suffered, knowing that rampant inflation and currency devaluation were burning like wildfires through the lush financial foliage of my home. It still depresses me, even today. I remembered thinking my accounts needed me and there was nothing I could do! I felt so... so helpless. So you see, I do understand.

Benjamin Sisko: There comes a time in every man’s life when he must stop thinking and start doing.

Nog: I'm sorry captain, the names of Red Squad members are supposed to be secret.

Benjamin Sisko: But you know who they are?

Nog: He-he. It's not easy keeping secrets from a Ferengi, and I feel funny telling anyone else. Besides if they found out I told you, I'd never get in.

Benjamin Sisko: Cadet, you are obviously under the mistaken impression that I am asking a favor. [increasingly hostile voice] I want a name and I want it now and that is an order. Understood Mr. Nog?

Nog: Yes sir.

[Sisko interrogating a Cadet]

Cadet Shepherd: ...and our role would go unrecognized, at least for now.

Benjamin Sisko: Maybe if you had done your job right it would have. But you fouled it up didn't you? You cadets did some sloppy work - some damn sloppy work.

[Sisko enters Leyton's office pointing a phaser at him]

Admiral Leyton: Are you planning on using that?

Benjamin Sisko: Against a fellow officer? I hope not. [Takes off Leyton's combadge] But I will have to ask for your resignation.

Admiral Leyton: You'll forgive me if I don't leap at the opportunity.

Benjamin Sisko: I have enough evidence to convict you of treason. We have Lieutenant Arriaga in custody on the Defiant and he is ready to admit that under your orders, he attached a subspace modulator to the relay satellite on the far side of the wormhole. That's why it was opening and closing at random.

Admiral Leyton: Why would anyone want to do that?

Benjamin Sisko: To make it look like a cloaked Dominion fleet was coming through the wormhole. That way when Earth's power relays were sabatoged, people would think that an invasion was imminent.

Admiral Leyton: That's a very interesting theory, but it's not going to do you much good. Lieutenant Arriaga... isn't going to get to Earth. I've sent the Lakota to intercept the Defiant.

Benjamin Sisko: You really think one Starfleet starship will fire on another?

Admiral Leyton: As far as Benteen's crew is concerned, the Defiant isn't a Starfleet ship. They've been told that everyone on the Defiant's been replaced by shapeshifters.

Gul Dukat: First it was Vedek Bareil and now it's the head of the Bajoran government. You do like powerful men, don't you?

Kira Nerys: First of all, Shakaar's an old friend. Second of all, what business is it of yours?

Gul Dukat: Let's just say it's further incentive for me to regain my former position.

Tora Ziyal: You don't like my father very much, do you?

Kira Nerys: No, I don't.

Tora Ziyal: I understand. He did some very bad things during the occupation.

Kira Nerys: Yes, he did.

Tora Ziyal: It bothers him, you know?

Kira Nerys: [Disbelieving] Does it?

Tora Ziyal: Very much. He talks about it sometimes. He'd never admit it to anyone else, but he thinks the Occupation was a mistake.

Kira Nerys: Somehow, I don't think he'd say that if the Cardassians had won.

Tora Ziyal: Maybe not, but maybe losing made him a better person.

Kira Nerys: Well, then a lot of innocent people died for his education.

Gul Dukat: You judge me too harshly. Maybe I am seeking to regain my former position, one which I earned through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, but redemption is not my sole motivation. I care about my people and I don't intend to allow the Klingons to get away with murdering them. I'm a much more complicated man than you give me credit for.

Kira Nerys: Well, if that's true, I suppose I prefer simpler men.

Gul Dukat: Like Shakaar? It amazes me that a woman as intelligent and sophisticated as you could be attracted to such a lumbering, simplistic fieldhand. I mean, what could the two of you possibly talk about?

Kira Nerys: That lumbering fieldhand is the First Minister of Bajor, and he knows more about how to talk to me than you ever will.

Gul Dukat: How can you be so sure? After all, you don't know me well enough to make a comparison.

Kira Nerys: I don't want to know you well enough. And if you want to keep working with me, I suggest you stick to business.

Gul Dukat: I'm sorry, Major. I didn't mean any harm. I was just making conversation.

Gul Dukat: Major, is it my imagination, or do you have a hard time accepting compliments?

Kira Nerys: I have a hard time accepting compliments from 'you'.

Gul Dukat: Well, I'll try to restrain my enthusiasm [Leans in and whispers] but I can't make you any promises.

[Dukat has asked Kira to join him in his fight against the Klingons]

Gul Dukat: You know how to organize a resistance cell, you're an expert at terrorist tactics, you have close ties with Bajoran and Federation officials and besides all that, it would give you a chance to do what you were meant to do.

Kira Nerys: No thanks. I've already got a job.

Gul Dukat: What do you mean? On that space station? We both know your talents are being wasted there, co-ordinating docking assignments and leading training exercises. On Deep Space Nine you're nothing but a bureaucrat, an administrator. If you come with me, you can be a soldier again. Think about it, Major, the chance to fight again against a superior foe in a righteous cause, to protect a defeated and broken people from a cruel aggressor. You know as well as I do that if Cardassia falls, Bajor is next. Help me stop the Klingons before you become their next target.

Kira Nerys: You're really serious about this.

Gul Dukat: Absolutely! Look, Major, I'm not asking you to like me or to be my friend. I'm asking you to join me, to fight at my side. You know what I'm doing is right, and it's what you want to do as well. I know that our past makes it difficult for you to accept me as an ally. I also know that every fiber of your being is telling you to say "No, No, No," but somewhere I know there's a "Yes." You need to listen to that "Yes," not for my sake, not for Cardassia's, not even for Bajor's, but for your sake.

Gul Dukat: Well, Major, it appears that whether you like it or not, our lives have become deeply intertwined.

Benjamin Sisko: Part of being a captain is knowing when to smile. Make the troops happy! Even when it's the last thing in the world you want to do. Because they are your troops, and you have to take care of them.

Worf: Life is a great deal more complicated in this red uniform.

Benjamin Sisko: Wait till you get four pips on that collar. You'll wish you had gone into botany.

Michael Eddington: I know you. I was like you once, but then I opened my eyes. Open your eyes, Captain. Why is the Federation so obsessed about the Maquis? We've never harmed you. And yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism. Starships chase us through the Badlands, and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join. You're only sending them replicators so that one day they can take their rightful place on the Federation Council. You know, in some ways you're worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious... you assimilate people and they don't even know it.

Benjamin Sisko: You know what, Mr. Eddington... I don't give a damn what you think of the Federation, or the Maquis, or anything else. All I know is that you betrayed your oath, your duty and me. And if it takes me the rest of my life, I'll see you standing before a court-martial that'll break you and send you to a penal colony where you'll spend the rest of your days growing old and wondering whether a ship full of replicators was really worth it.

Elim Garak: (re: a Cardassian phaser) I guess I won't be needing this then.

Julian Bashir: These people believed in me, and look where it got them. Trevian was right: there is no cure. The Dominion made sure of that, and I was so arrogant, I thought I could find one in a week!

Jadzia Dax: Maybe it was arrogant to think that. But it's even more arrogant to think that there isn't a cure just because you couldn't find it.

Quark: Awful! Did you hear that sound of bone snapping? I don't want that to be the last sound I hear!

Elim Garak: It wasn't that loud.

Quark: You don't have these ears.

Elim Garak: We're running out of options here Quark. You didn't want to be phasered because you need a body. The knife was too savage, the nerve gas smelled bad, hanging took too long, and poison...what was was wrong with poison?

Quark: It doesn't work. If I know the food is poisoned; I won't eat it.

Elim Garak: For someone who wants to die you're strangely intent on living.

Quark: I'm going to die, don't you worry about that. I just don't want to see it coming, or hear it, or taste it, or smell it.

Elim Garak: I see. You want to be surprised.

Quark: I want to wake up in the divine treasury and have no idea how I got there.

Elim Garak: That can be arranged.

Rom: Rule of Acquisition # 17 - A contract is a contract is a contract...But only between Ferengi.

Benjamin Sisko: Brag all you want, but don't get between me and the bloodwine!

Miles O'Brien: So, let me get this straight: all we have to do is get past an enemy fleet, avoid a tachyon detection grid, beam into the middle of Klingon headquarters and avoid the Brotherhood of the Sword long enough to set these things up and activate them in front of Gowron?

Gul Dukat: Major, I must say I'm shocked. You use my daughter to lure me here, you're asking me to risk my ship on some fool's errand into the Klingon Empire, and you're pregnant. I hope First Minister Shakaar appreciates what a lucky man he is.

Jadzia Dax: If I were in your shoes, I would be looking for someone a little more entertaining, a little more fun... and maybe even a little more attainable.

Worf: You are not in my shoes.

Jadzia Dax: Too bad. You'd be amazed at what I can do in a pair of size 18 boots.

Worf: Grilka is from the Mekro'vak region. It is customary among her people for the man to bring the leg of a Lingta to the first courtship dinner. Make sure it is fresh, as if you had just killed it. Then, use the leg to sweep aside everything on the table... and declare in a loud voice, "I have brought you this. From this day, I wish to provide food for you and your House, and all I ask is to share your company... and do honor to your name."

Dr. Julian Bashir: (examining an injured Quark) A compound fracture of the right radius, two fractured ribs, torn ligaments, strained tendons, numerous contusions, bruises and scratches. What have you been doing?

Elim Garak: I only wish I were still a member of the Obsidian Order. This would make a wonderful interrogation chamber. Tight quarters. No air, bad lighting, random electric shocks. It's perfect.

Gul Dukat: [To Kira] You and me on the same side? It never seemed quite... right, did it?

Gul Dukat: [speaking to his people] You might ask, should we fear joining the Dominion? And I answer you: Not in the least. We should embrace the opportunity. The Dominion recognizes us for what we are, the true leaders of the Alpha Quadrant. And now that we are joined together, equal partners in all endeavors, the only people with anything to fear will be our enemies. My oldest son's birthday is in five days. To him, and to Cardassians everywhere, I make the following pledge: By the time his birthday dawns, there will not be a single Klingon alive inside Cardassian territory. Or a single Maquis colony left within our borders. Cardassia will be made whole, all that we have lost will be ours again. And anyone who stands in our way will be destroyed. This I vow with my life's blood, for my son, for all our sons.

Martok: [regarding Garak's claustrophibia] There is no greater enemy than one's own fears.

Quark: The Jem Hadar don't eat, don't drink, and they don't have sex. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Founders don't eat, and don't drink, and they don't have sex, either. Which, between you and me, makes my financial future less than promising.

Ziyal: It might not be so bad. For all we know the Vorta might be gluttonous, alcoholic sex maniacs.

Quark: [brightened] I never thought of that! I wonder what their favorite food is...?

Miles O'Brien: You're not a fraud. I don't care how many enhancements your parents had done. Genetic recoding can't give you ambition or a personality or compassion or any of the things that make a person truly human.

Bashir: What is this all about, Odo? You didn't come here to talk to me about women. [Odo looks away] Did you? [realizing] Aaah. This is about "Bedroom Eyes", isn't it?

Odo: Who told you about her? Kira?

Bashir: Nope.

Odo: Dax.

Bashir: Actually, it was Miles.

{Odo groans in embarrassment.]

Bashir: [continuing] If people are talking, it's only because they care. You put on a good front. But anyone who really knows you can tell that you're lonely. If you're interested in this woman, you have to let her know.

Odo: I can't.

Bashir: Why not?

Odo: ... What if I... What if she --

Bashir: Rejects you? She might. But you can't go through life trying to avoid getting a broken heart. If you do, it'll break from loneliness anyway. So you might as well take the chance. If you don't, she'll move on and you'll never know what you might have had. And living with that is worse than having a broken heart. Believe me.

Quark: None of these charges are gonna stick! I haven't broken any laws! [beat] I have a license to run holosuites.

Odo: But you don't have a license to sell weapons, do you?

Quark: [pause] I defy you to prove that I've brought a single weapon onto this station.

Odo: It's a mere technicality; we both know what you're doing. And I promise you, you're going to face the consequences.

[Sisko and Kira enter while Odo is saying this]

Sisko: Not today, he isn't! [pause] Let him go.

Odo: [incredulous] Let him go?!

Sisko: Major, tell the constable what you told me.

Kira: The Bajoran government insists that Deep Space 9 not interfere with the lawful transactions of Hagath and his associates. Hagath supplied arms to the resistance; without him or people like him, we would all be dead, and the Cardassians would still be in power. [beat] We owe him.

Odo: [exasperated] ...Captain!

Sisko: I don't like it any more than you do.

Quark: [smug] Better luck next time.

Sisko: You'd better hope there isn't a "next time," mister! I have cut you a lot of slack in the past—I even looked the other way once or twice when I could have come down hard on you—but those days are over! Now, we may not be able to get you for selling weapons, but you so much as litter on the Promenade, and I will nail you to the wall!!

Quark: Twenty-eight million people dead? Couldn't we just... wound some of them?

Eddington: Not really; I just saw which of you was knocked down first and then I shot the one still standing.

Sisko: Thank you for your vote of confidence.

Quark: Did you catch him?

Odo: We caught him. Or rather, Major Kira caught him.

Kira: I didn't really do anything. I was in the Bajoran shrine, meditating, and he burst in, stark naked, fell to his knees, crying out to the Prophets for protection!

Bashir: Morn, of all people. Who would've thought he'd just snap like that?

Odo: Certainly not me. Which leads me to wonder, what could have pushed him over the edge? [looks pointedly at Quark]

Quark: Why are you looking at me? I'm the victim here! [Odo scoffs] He hit me with a bar stool!

Kira: Why did he hit you?

Quark: I don't have the faintest idea.

Kira: Think harder.

Odo: Witness say you were talking to him right up until the moment he went berserk.

Quark: Of course I was talking to him. That's what bartenders are supposed to do, talk to their customers.

Kira: What exactly was it that you were talking to him about?

Quark: All I said was, that the military personnel on this station were starting to look a little nervous. When they get nervous, I get nervous.

Odo: And that's all you said?

Quark: Basically. [beat] I might've done some harmless theorizing.

Bashir: About what?

Quark: Oh, something like...it was only a matter of time until the Dominion launched a full-scale assault on the Federation, and when that happened, this station would undoubtedly be their first target. [long pause] And I might've idly suggested that there wasn't a chance in hell of any of us getting out of here alive.

Odo: And that's when Morn hit you with a bar stool and ran onto the Promenade screaming, "We're all doomed"?

Dr. Elias Giger: I haven't done anything wrong and I won't be hounded by you and your soulless minions of orthodoxy.

Dr. Elias Giger: Since you are not, in fact working for the soulless minions of orthodoxy that have hounded my work and plagued my existence I have decided to open negotiations regarding the sale of a mint condition 1951 Willie Mays rookie card-- without the original packaging or chewing gum.

Dr. Elias Giger: And while the soulless minions of orthodoxy refuse to follow up on his important research I could hear the clarion call of destiny ringing in my ears.

Nog: Maybe the soulless minions of orthodoxy finally caught up with him.

Dr. Elias Giger: You turned me over to these soulless minions of orthodoxy.

[Working for a scientist named Geiger, and also searching for a missing teddy bear]

Jake Sisko: We're going to beard the lion in its den.

Nog: [Confused] Lions, Geigers, bears...

Jake Sisko: Oh my.

Benjamin Sisko: Even in the darkest moments, you can always find something that will make you smile.

Benjamin Sisko: When I first took command of this post all I wanted was to be somewhere else... anywhere but here. But now, five years later this has become my home, and you have become my family. And leaving this station-- leaving you-- is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But this war isn't over yet. I want you to know that while we were keeping the Dominion occupied, a Starfleet-Klingon task force crossed the border into Cardassia and destroyed the Dominion shipyards on Torros III. Your sacrifices... our sacrifices made that victory possible. But no victory can make this moment any easier for me. And I promise, I will not rest until I stand with you again... here... in this place where I belong.

Quark: All I know is that any marriage where the female is allowed to speak and wear clothing is doomed to failure.

Weyoun: It would appear Captain Sisko removed or destroyed everything of value.

Prophets: That (the Dominion reinforcements) is a corporeal matter. Corporeal matters do not concern us.

Benjamin Sisko: The hell they don't. What about Bajor? You sent the Bajorans orbs and emissaries. You even encouraged them to create an entire RELIGION around you. So don't you tell me corporeal matters don't concern you. You even told me once, that you are of Bajor. You don't want me to end my life? Well fine, neither do I! You want to be gods, then be gods. Look, I need a miracle here. Bajor needs a miracle. Stop those ships!

Prophet Gul Dukat: We are of Bajor.

Prophet Odo: But what of the Emmissary?

Prophet Weyoun: He is intrusive,...

Prophet Odo: Belligerent,...

Prophet Damar: Adverseral.

Prophet Gul Dukat: He tries to control the game

Prophet Jake Sisko: A penance must be exacted.

Prophet Gul Dukat: We agree.

Prophet Weyoun: You are the Sisko.

Prophet Odo: The Emissary is of Bajor, but he will find no rest there.

[Bashir and O'Brien, starving, thirsty and hanging off a pole during Kal'Hyah (The Path of Clarity) before Worf's marriage]

Julian Bashir: Miles?

Miles O'Brien: Yeah?

Julian Bashir: It works... I've had a vision about the future... I can see it so clearly.

Miles O'Brien: What is it?

Julian Bashir: I'm going to kill Worf... I'm going to kill Worf!... that's what I'm going to do... I see it so clearly!

Miles O'Brien: Kill Worf.

Julian Bashir: Yeah, kill Worf.

[They lapse into a mantra of "Kill Worf".]

Martok: We are Klingons. We don't embrace other cultures, we conquer them.

Martok: [to Worf, before his wedding] We are not accorded the luxury of choosing the women we fall in love with. Do you think Sirella is anything like the woman I thought I'd marry? She is a mercurial, arrogant, prideful woman who shares my bed far too infrequently for my taste. And yet... I love her deeply. We Klingons often tout our prowess in battle and our desire for honor and glory above all else... but how hollow is the sound of victory without someone to share it with. And Honor gives little comfort to a man alone in his home... and in his heart.

Benjamin: …I have begun to wonder. What if it wasn’t a dream? What if this life we’re leading, all of this—you and me, everything—what if all of this is the illusion?

Joseph: That’s a scary thought.

Benjamin: I know. I know. But maybe, just maybe… Benny isn’t the dream. We are. Maybe we’re nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know… at this very moment… somewhere far beyond all those distant stars… Benny Russell… is dreaming of us.

Luther Sloan: Really? [considers for a moment] How many lives do you suppose you've saved in your medical career?

Julian Bashir: What has that got to do with anything?

Luther Sloan: Hundreds? Thousands? Do you suppose those people give a damn that you lied to get into Starfleet Medical? I doubt it. We deal with threats to the Federation that jeopardize its very survival. If you knew how many lives we've saved, I think you'd agree that the ends do justify the means. Now I'm not afraid of bending the rules every once in a while if the situation warrants it. And I don't think you are, either.

Quark: Thank you, Captain. Thank you for restoring my faith in the 98th Rule of Acquisition: "Every man has his price."

Benjamin Sisko: My father always used to say that "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." I laid the first stone right there. I'd committed myself. I'd pay any price, go to any lengths, because my cause was righteous, my... intentions were good.

Benjamin Sisko: That was my first moment of real doubt, when I started to wonder if this whole thing was a mistake. So then I went back to my office. And there was a new casualty list, waiting for me. People are dying out there, every day! Entire worlds are struggling for their freedom, and here I am still worrying about the finer points of morality! No, I... I had to keep my eye on the ball, win the war, stopping the bloodshed, those were the priorities. So I pushed on, and every time another doubt appeared before me, I just found another way to shove it aside.

Benjamin Sisko: Welcome aboard, Senator, I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Vreenak: So... you're the Commander of Deep Space Nine and the Emissary to the Prophets, decorated combat officer, widower, father, mentor and oh yes, the man who started the war with the Dominion. Somehow, I thought you'd be taller.

Benjamin Sisko: Sorry to disappoint you.

Vreenak: To be honest, my opinion of Starfleet Officers is so low, you'd have to work very hard indeed to disappoint me.

Benjamin Sisko: Who's watching Tolar?

Elim Garak: I've locked him in his quarters. I've also left him with the distinct impression that if he attempts to force the door open, it may explode.

Benjamin Sisko: I hope that's just an impression.

Elim Garak: It's best not to dwell on such minutiae.

Elim Garak: If you can let your anger subside for a moment, Captain, you will see that they did not die in vain! The Romulans will enter the war!

Benjamin Sisko: There's no guarantee of that!

Elim Garak: Oh, but I think there is. You see, when the Tal Shiar finishes examining the wreckage of Vreenak's shuttle, they'll find the burnt remnants of a Cardassian optolithic data rod that somehow miraculously survived the explosion. After painstaking forensic examination, they'll discover that the rod contains a recording of a high level Dominion meeting at which the invasion of Romulus was being planned.

Benjamin Sisko: And then they will discover that it is a fraud!

Elim Garak: No, but I don't think that they will! Because any imperfections in the forgery will thought to be as a result of the explosion! So, with a seemingly legitimate rod in one hand, and a dead senator in the other, I ask you Captain... what conclusions would you draw?

Benjamin Sisko: [sighs] That Vreenak obtained the rod on Soukara, and that the Dominion killed him to prevent him from returning to Romulus with it.

Elim Garak: Precisely. And the more they deny it, the more the Romulans will think that they are guilty because it is exactly what they would have done in their place. [pauses]That's why you came to me. Isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing. Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal... and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.

Benjamin Sisko: At 0800 hours, station time, the Romulan Empire formally declared war on the Dominion. They have already struck fifteen bases along the Cardassian border. So, this is a huge victory for the good guys! This may even be the turning point of the entire war. There is even a 'Welcome to the Fight' party tonight in the ward room. So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all is... I think I can live with it. And if I'd have to do it all over again... I would. Garak was right about one thing. A guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant, so I will learn to live with it... because I can live with it. [pauses] I can live with it. [pauses] Computer, erase that entire personal log.

Ezri Dax: I can hardly believe it myself. But I'm Dax. I mean I'm not Jadzia Dax. I'm Ezri Dax. But I have all of Jadzia's memories. Not to mention Lela's, Tobin's, Emony's, Audrid's, Joran's, Curzon's. Am I forgetting anyone?

Benjamin Sisko: Torias.

Ezri Dax: Right. You are probably asking yourself, who is this person? How did she get the symbiont? Do I want another Dax in my life? Does she always talk this much? These are very good questions. And I wish I had good answers for you.

Elim Garak: [to Ezri] I don't need someone to walk in here and hold my hand. I want someone to help me get back to work and you, my dear, are not up to this task. Well, look at you; you're pathetic. A confused child trying to live up to a legacy left by her predecessors. You're not worthy of the name Dax. I knew Jadzia. She was vital, alive. She owned herself, and you, you don't even know who you are. How dare you presume to help me? You can't even help yourself. Now get out of here, before I say something unkind.

Ezri Dax: It's a strange sensation, dying. No matter how many times it happens to you, you never get used to it.

Worf: THE OUTSIDE CORNER?! THE CORNER OF THE DUGOUT, PERHAPS! MAYBE THE CORNER OF THE STADIUM! BUT NOT THE CORNER OF THE PLATE!

Benjamin Sisko: THE CORNER, MY FOOT! THAT WAS A BALL, AND YOU KNOW IT! WE SHOULD HAVE TWO MEN ON! TWO MEN ON! TWO MEN ON!

Odo: Gentlemen, you are trying my patience.

Benjamin Sisko: You stole the run from us! You stole it, just as if you reached up and tore it off the score board!

[Begins poking Odo in the chest]

Benjamin Sisko: You stole it from us!

Odo: You. YOU'RE OUTTA HERE!

Benjamin Sisko: What?!

Odo: No player shall at anytime make contact with the umpire in any manner. The prescribed penalty for the violation is immediate ejection from the game. Rule number 4.06, subsection A, paragraph four. Look it up, but do it in the stands. YOU'RE GONE!

Jack: The fact is that the universe is going to stop expanding and it is going to collapse in on itself. We have to do something before it is too late.

Patrik: How much time do we have left?

Jack: 60 trillion years. 70 at the most.

Patrik: Oh no.

Sarina: If I had to choose someone to replace Atlas and hold up the world, it'd be Miles. He'd do it with a smile, too. And Kira. She never doubts herself. Which is what Odo finds so fascinating, because he doubts everything but her.

Sarina: [considers] The moment she realizes she's more than just the sum of her parts, she's really going to be something.

Bashir: I can't believe you saw all that after only just a few hours. I'm going to have to start putting on my poker face.

Sarina: Too late. You've already given yourself away.

Bashir: Really? [Sarina nods] And how would you describe me?

Sarina: Compassionate. Brilliant. Lonely.

Bashir: Well, two out of three isn't bad.

Sarina: Which two?

Bashir: That would be telling.

Bashir: Sarina. Talk to me… please. I know you can. What’s wrong? Is it me? If it is, don’t be afraid. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it right… because I love you. I want us to be together. Tell me. Do you love me?

Sarina: I don’t know. I don’t even understand what love is. I don’t understand anything.

Bashir: Sarina—

Sarina: What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to feel? Tell me. I want to make you happy. I owe you everything.

Bashir: Shh. You don’t owe me. You don’t owe me anything.

Sarina: I’m sorry. I wish I could be the woman you want me to be.

Bashir: Shh.

Bashir: How could I have been so blind? What was I thinking, trying to move things along so fast? She needed time. I didn’t give it to her. I came this close to driving her back inside herself. I’m supposed to be a doctor. I’m supposed to put my patient’s needs above my own.

Kira Nerys: [to Odo] I know to Starfleet the Prophets are nothing more than wormhole aliens, but to me, they're gods. I can't prove it. Then, again, I don't have to because my faith in them is enough just as Weyoun's faith in you was enough for him.

Odo: Has it ever occurred to you that the reason you believe the Founders are gods is because that's what they want you to believe? That they built it into your genetic code?

Weyoun: Of course they did, that's what gods do. After all, why be a god if there's no one to worship you?

Odo: You still haven't answered my question. Why did you decide to defect?

Weyoun: I realize my place is with you.

Odo: You can do better than that.

Weyoun: Then let's just say I left Cardassia because my life was in danger.

Odo: From whom?

Weyoun: Everyone.

Odo: Aren't you being a little paranoid?

Weyoun: Of course I'm paranoid, everyone's trying to kill me.

Miles O'Brien: How could he do this to me? How could he leave me adrift, mid-river, without a paddle?

Kor: Help me, Worf. Help me end my life as I've lived it - as a warrior.

Kor: Savor the fruit of life, my young friends. The taste is sweet at first, but it turns bitter after a time.

Martok: [on Kor] I've hated his name for almost thirty years. I've dreamed of the day when I would see him stripped of his rank and privilege, left without honor or a friend, or the power of his birthright. And I've had that moment now... and I took no joy from it.

Kor: (as Worf is departing to lead a suicide mission) I came to wish you well. I look forward to seeing you at the gates to Sto-Vo-Kor.

Quark: Let me tell you something about hu-mons, nephew. They're a wonderful, friendly people as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working... but take away their creature comforts deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers... put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same, friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes.

Quark: You can't make a deal if you're dead.

Sisko: (looking around at the aftermath of the battle) We held.

Reese: Those were our orders, sir.

Worf: (searching for words to console Sisko) This was a great victory. One worthy of story and song.

Nog: When the war began, I wasn't happy or anything. But I was eager. I wanted to test myself. I wanted to prove I had what it took to be a soldier. And I saw a lot of combat. I saw a lot of people get hurt. I saw a lot of people die. But I didn't think anything was going to happen to me. And then suddenly, Dr. Bashir is telling me he has to cut my leg off. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. If I can get shot, if I can lose my leg, anything can happen to me, Vic. I could die tomorrow. I don't know if I'm ready to face that. If I stay here, at least I know what the future is going to be like.

Vic Fontaine: You stay here, you're gonna die. Not all at once, but little by little. Eventually, you'll become as hollow as I am.

Nog: You don't seem hollow to me.

Vic Fontaine: Compared to you, I'm hollow as a snare drum. Look, kid, I don't know what's going to happen to you out there. All I can tell you is that... you've got to play the cards life deals you. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But at least you're in the game.

Benjamin Sisko: You want to know? You really want to know what my problem is? I'll tell you: Las Vegas, 1962. That's my problem. In 1962, black people weren't very welcome there! Oh, sure, they could be performers or janitors, but customers? Never!

Kasidy Yates: Maybe that's the way it was in the real Vegas, but that's not the way it is at Vic's. I have never felt uncomfortable there, and neither has Jake.

Benjamin Sisko: But don't you see?! That's the lie! In 1962, the Civil Rights Movement was still in its infancy! It wasn't an easy time for our people, and I'm not going to pretend that it was!

Kasidy Yates: Baby... I know that Vic's isn't a totally accurate representation of the way things were, but... it isn't meant to be. It shows us the way things could have been - the way they should have been.

Benjamin Sisko: We cannot ignore the truth about the past.

Kasidy Yates: Going to Vic's isn't going to make us forget who we are or where we came from. What it does is reminds us that we are no longer bound by any limitations - except the ones we impose on ourselves.

Garak: I trust that Starfleet Intelligence will be sending someone along to make good use of this opportunity?

Bashir: What do you mean?

Garak: Well isn't it obvious? This is a golden opportunity to gather intelligence on Romulan intentions and military capabilities.

Bashir: They are allies, Garak. With any luck this could be the beginning of an entirely new friendship between our peoples.

Garak: (turns his eyes) The eternal optimist.

Bashir: Guilty as charged.

Garak: How sad. I must tell you, I'm disappointed and hearing you mouth the usual platitudes of peace and friendship regarding an implacable foe like the Romulans. But I live in hope that one day you'll come to see this universe for what it truly is, rather than what you do wish it to be.

Bashir: Then I shall endeavor to become more cynical with each passing day, look gift horses squarely in the mouth and find clouds in every silver lining.

Weyoun: We know that these disgraceful acts of sabotage were carried out by a mere handful of extremists, but these radicals must come to realize that their disobedience will not be tolerated, and that you, the Cardassian people will suffer the consequences of their cowardly actions. Which is why, I must inform you, just a few moments ago, Dominion troops reduced Lakarian City to ashes. There were no survivors. Two million men, women, and children, gone in a matter of a moments. For each act of terrorism against the Dominion, another Cardassian city will be destroyed. I implore you not to let that happen. Let us return the spirit of friendship and cooperation between our peoples, so that together we can destroy our common enemies: the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and all others who stand against us. Thank you.

Garak: (as Jem'Hadar soldiers destroy his childhood home) All during the years of my exile I imagined what it would be like to come home. I even thought of living in this house again, with Mila. But now she's dead, and this house is about to be reduced to a pile of rubble. My Cardassia is gone.

Garak: Well, isn't it obvious? Here we are, ready to storm the castle, prepared to sacrifice our lives in a noble effort to slay the Dominion beast in its lair... [Kira begins to laugh uncontrollably] ...and we can't even get inside the gates!

[They all begin to laugh.]

Kira: Maybe... maybe we could go up to the door and ask the Jem'Hadar to let us in.

Female Changeling: It is always good to see you, Odo. But I have no intention of surrendering my forces. It would be sign of weakness, an invitation to the Solids to cross into the Gamma Quadrant and destroy the Great Link.

Odo: Believe me when I say that the Federation has its flaws, but a desire for conquest is not one of them.

Female Changeling: And what of the Romulans and the Klingons? Can you say the same for them?

Odo: The Romulan and Klingon Empires are in no position to invade anyone. Besides, the Federation would not allow it.

Female Changeling: The Dominion has spent the last two years trying to destroy the Federation, and now you're asking me to put our fate in their hands?

Odo: Yes.

Female Changeling: I'm sorry, Odo. I do not have your kind of faith in the Solids.

Martok: Before you shed too many tears, let me remind you these are Cardassians who lie dead at your feet! Bajorans would call this poetic justice.

Benjamin Sisko: That doesn't mean I have to drink a toast over their bodies.

Garak: Oh, it's quite all right, Doctor. Some would say we got exactly what we deserved. After all, we are not completely innocent here. And I'm not just referring to the occupation of Bajor. Our history is filled with arrogant aggression. We joined the Dominion and betrayed the entire Alpha Quadrant. Yes... we are guilty as charged.

Bashir: But Cardassian people are strong, they will survive. Cardassia will survive...

Garak: Oh please, doctor, spare me your insufferable Federation optimism! Of course it'll survive. But not the Cardassia I knew. Our art and literature was second to none. And now look at us. So many of our best minds all... gone.

Admiral Ross: (to Worf) How would you feel being named Federation Ambassdor to Qo'noS?

Benjamin Sisko: To the best crew any captain ever had. This may be the last time we're all together. But no matter what the future holds, no matter how far we travel, a part of us... a very important part, will always remain here, on Deep Space Nine.

Dukat: [to Winn] Did you really think the Pah-Wraiths would choose you as their Emissary? Soon, the Pah-Wraiths will burn across Bajor, the Celestial Temple, the Alpha Quadrant. Can you picture it? An entire universe set in flames! To burn for all eternity! [Sisko enters] The Prophets have sent me a gift. Their beloved Emissary, set forth like an avenging angel to slay the demon.

Benjamin Sisko: First the Dominion, now the Pah-Wraiths. You have a talent for picking the losing side!

Dukat: Benjamin, please. We've known each other too long. And since this is the last time we will ever be together, let's try to speak honestly. We've both had our victories and our defeats. Now it's time to resolve our differences and face the ultimate truth. I've won, Benjamin. You've lost.

Benjamin Sisko: The Pah-Wraiths will never conquer anything! Not Bajor, not the Celestial Temple, and certainly not the Alpha Quadrant!

Dukat: And who's going to stop us?

Benjamin Sisko: I am!

Dukat: You can't even stand up!

Winn: Then I'll stop you.

Dukat: Are you still here?

[After Odo's seemingly impassive farewell to Quark]

Kira: Don't take it hard, Quark.

Quark: Hard? What are you talking about? That man loves me! Couldn't you see? It was written all over his back.

Contrary to a comment from NY Comic Con, Michael Piller and I pitched our ideas for DS9 to Gene, and he gave us his enthusiastic approval.

We pitched the concept and characters. We didn't lay-out 7 years of story arcs. It was far too early to know where it was going

Rick Berman tweets October 13th 2014

When Gene died, both Michael Piller and I were involved in creating and writing Deep Space Nine, and we never really got a chance to talk to him about it because he was quite ill at that point. But even with Deep Space Nine and later Voyager, and Enterprise I felt it was important that as long as something had the Star Trek name on it that it stayed true to Gene’s belief of what Star Trek was all about."

I think Deep Space [Nine] was the show that really took Star Trek as far as you could take it. You have the original series which is a sort of a landmark, it changes everything about the way science fiction is presented on television, at least space-based science fiction. Then you have Next Generation which, for all of its legitimate achievements is still a riff on the original. It's still sort of like, ok, it's another star ship and it's another captain – it's different but it's still a riff on the original. Here comes Deep Space [Nine] and it just runs the table in a different way. It just says ok, you think you know what Star Trek is, let's put it on a space station, and let's make it darker. Let's make it a continuing story, and let's continually challenge your assumptions about what this American icon means. And I think it was the ultimate achievement for the franchise. Personally, I think it's the best of all of them, I think it's an amazing piece of work.

The truth is that if Gene (Roddenberry) was alive -had been alive- DS9 would have never been made, because he absolutely said “no” to it when it was presented to him. He said ‘Star Trek is about exploring space, it’s not about a hotel in space.’ So, it would never have happened.

Were Piller and Berman aware of B5 at any time? No. Of that I am also confident. The only question in my mind is to what degree did the development people steer them? One scenario is that they did not steer them at ALL…but knowing of B5, and knowing how swell it would be if they could co-opt B5, if Piller and Berman came up with a space station on their own, they would likely say nothing, even though they might be viewed as being under a moral obligation to say something. Another scenario is that they gave direction to the creative folks without telling them the origin of that direction. There are several ways of dealing with this. One is to launch a major suit with full powers of discovery. The result is that DS9 gets tied up for months, maybe even years in litigation, and maybe the show doesn’t go forward. It also means hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by Warners and me and others pursuing this…not to mention the sense of ill will that will fly back and forth.

The people that really understand and love Star Trek are no longer there. When Gene Roddenbery passed, that really was the end of Star Trek, as we knew it. The series that came on immediately after was DEEP SPACE NINE, which was the polar opposite of Gene’s philosophy and vision of the future, Star Trek lost it’s way then and now the people at Paramount are all new people. Herb Solow who was the executive in charge of Desilu Studios is now a professor in Wales. We became very good friends and we had dinner with him and his wife before they left, and when I was in London last year I saw an article about a Professor Herb Solow! But, basically the people now at the studio have absolutely no connection with Star Trek as we knew it, sadly.